Simpson baseball seizes opportunity against Iowa

The Simpson baseball team traveled to Iowa City on Tuesday looking for an upset but missed on a couple of key opportunities in their matchup against the University of Iowa, falling 7-2 to the Hawkeyes.

The Storm (6-2) had the bases loaded with two outs in the sixth inning but couldn’t bring any runners home. In the eighth, the bases were loaded again, this time with zero outs, but Iowa (10-7) pitched their way out of the jam.

Iowa scored four runs on one hit in the second inning, pushed across another in the sixth, and added two more in the eighth.

Sophomore first baseman Kolton Arnold was able to push the Storm’s first run across in the top of the third with a sacrifice fly ball to deep center, making the score 4-1. Three innings later, sophomore third baseman Brandon Urias smoked an RBI single to center, crushing the Hawkeye’s hopes of a no-hit bid.

The Iowa pitching staff continued to experience pitching troubles, having to use six different pitchers to claim the victory. The Storm only used three arms, led by a dominant performance on the mound from freshman pitcher Dunston Werner.

“They were the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced so I needed to mix up pitches and hit spots to keep them off balance,” Werner said.

Aside from the final score, the Storm relished the opportunity to compete on the big stage. Senior shortstop Nathan Carlin was one of the many on the team who cherished the moment.

“It was a fun experience for us to be able to play against great competition at a Big Ten ballpark. To be able to compete and hold our own against a top-level squad really shows the maturity of our team,” Carlin said.

Simpson will host its 2019 home opener this Friday against Buena Vista at McBride Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.